Chadron State College Athletics

Max was a two-time state champion and an all-state football player at Burwell High School, graduating in 1980. He didn’t enroll at Chadron State until 1984, but it didn’t take him long to make his mark as a college wrestler. He had a 27-5 record as a freshman with several of his losses occurring while he was injured. He placed eighth at heavyweight at the NAIA National Tournament that season and was selected by Amateur Wrestling News as the outstanding freshman heavyweight in the nation regardless of the school’s classification. The following year, Max had a 31-5 record, won the heavyweight title at the NAIA Area Tournament and placed third at the NAIA National Tournament, where he won six of his seven matches.
After the 1986 season, a 275-pound limit was placed on heavyweights. When the ruling was made, Max weighed about 125 pounds over the limit and he was forced to sit out the 1986-87 season. He was determined to wrestle again, lost weight and returned to action in 1987-88. Despite needing arthroscopic knee surgery during the season, he finished second at the Area Tournament and wrapped up his career with a 73-23-2 record. His winning .744 winning percentage ranks among the top 10 in Chadron State annals. He was inducted into the Nebraska Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004. His wife, Kelly, was a “dorm mom” while he attended Chadron State. He has taught and coached at Ainsworth High School most of his career.
The couple moved to Burwell in 2007, where he was recognized as an outstanding industrial technology teacher and was an assistant football coach and co-head wrestling coach. During the five years before his death, the Longhorns reached the state football playoffs championship game four times and won two state wrestling championships.
Max died June 1, 2021 in a Kearney hospital following a short bout with leukemia.